


she smiled - he's a goner.

by rainbeep



Category: Stardew Valley (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, fluff & humor, marnie playing matchmaker? yes, rated T for shane's potty mouth, shane's the local fixer-upper just saying, what are titles?????? idk them
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-25
Updated: 2019-11-25
Packaged: 2021-02-18 12:09:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,234
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21560920
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rainbeep/pseuds/rainbeep
Summary: "Uh," he began brilliantly, "Marnie said your radiator kicked the bucket."Oneshot. Fluff. Shane's stubborn.
Relationships: Shane/Female Player (Stardew Valley)
Comments: 21
Kudos: 349





	she smiled - he's a goner.

"Shane?"

"Yeah, Marn?"

"Before you get too comfortable..."

Those five words were damn near enough for Shane to want to turn around and go back to work. Joja Mart had to be worth it, compared to whatever nice thing Marnie was about to ask him to do. He ran a hand down his face, exhaling, and moved to re-tie his sneakers.

"Lewis overheard at the saloon earlier that the farmer's radiator went out in her house. The poor dear, the weather lady said it would be below freezing tonight," she spoke. Shane could hear the fussing tone in her voice, and he didn't have to see her to know she was worrying her hands. "I'm afraid her pipes will freeze, and she has that kitty indoors ..."

"That's what happens when your house is older than dirt," he grumbled. He stood from the armchair, which also voiced it's complaints, before crossing the room to where Marnie stood.

"If you could be a dear and go check on her - she's new to country living, so maybe she just doesn't have it adjusted properly... and take her this heated blanket, and some leftovers - "

"Marnie." Another exhale. He draped the blanket over his arm, making sure the cord wasn't dragging the ground. "She's a grown woman. She doesn't need our handouts."

"Well, no - ... but you could say it's from you -"

He hadn't intended to slam the door behind him so hard, but it was too late to take it back. Shane knew the woman meant well, and had grown quite fond of the little farmer over the months she'd been here.

She would be a good influence, Marnie said. She'd lost someone before she moved here, maybe she understood how he felt.

He didn't want anyone to understand. He wanted to be left alone, but Pelican Town was a hell of a place to just _exist_. If it wasn't one thing, it was another.

Marnie's heart was in the right place, he knew. It _was_ fucking cold, and if the cabin's pipes froze, she would be in for a bigger mess.

Trekking across town as the sun went down reminded him of how late in the year it was. In a few weeks, Spirit's Eve would be here. If it didn't warm back up, Jas would have to wear a coat over her costume, and Shane could _already_ hear her complaining.

No wonder he was turning grey at twenty-eight.

The farmer's dog began to bark the moment he was on her land, tail wagging and puffs of air coming from his mouth. He could see the tiny cat in one of her windows, peering out to see what all the ruckus was.

Shane adjusted the blanket over his arm, knocking on the wooden door. It was only a moment or two before she opened the door, still in her work clothes and a hoodie pulled over top of her overalls.

"Uh," he began brilliantly, "Marnie said your radiator kicked the bucket."

"Yeah," she replied, pulling her hands out of her pouch pocket. "It's - today's the first time I've tried to use it, and it's just not doing anything. I know it's old, so - ..."

He didn't wait for her to let him in. He squeezed past her, the cat meowing at his presence.

Damn, her whole house was the size of his bedroom, he realized. His aunt wasn't kidding about her pipes freezing.

"Marn sent this with me just in case it's not a simple fix," he muttered, piling the blanket onto her bed. "Plug it in. It's older than Lewis, so it'll take some time to get warm."

Her scrambling to pull her bed frame away from the wall and reach the outlet hidden there filled the quiet; Shane knelt down next to the radiator, an absent hum coming from him as he hovered his palms over the metal. Cold on top, warm on bottom. Easy.

"You got pliers?"

"Hm? Yeah," she nodded. She slid from where she had been sitting on her bed, laying on her side to reach under the frame. Shane watched as she fumbled for the tool box that was shoved deep under the box spring.

Huh. He doubted that this was what Marnie meant when she said the farmer would be _good_ for him, gaze lazy on the bottom half of her body that stuck out from under the bed.

His view was interrupted by her cat, jumping down from the window to investigate the intruder. Cock-blocked by a pussy. That wouldn't be the first time.

"Got it!"

"Great," he deadpanned, taking the needle-nose pliers from her grasp when she wriggled out from under her bed. Some of her hair had come loose from under her hoodie, framing her face messily, and for a moment he was too enraptured by the little noises she made to her cat as the feline rubbed against her palm.

"Sorry about Tea," she said, his gaze snapping back to the radiator. He absently found the nut he needed to turn, clamping down with the pliers and giving it a small turn.

"N'problem," he mumbled. "Marnie has all sorts of animals. Cats aren't a problem."

The radiator let out a hiss. It was several moments before it slowed and silenced, and a few more before water dripped down from the nut. He turned it back how it was, sliding the pliers back to the farmer.

Shane had, for a moment, hoped she would wiggle back under the bed, before realizing with a hint of disdain that she had brought the tool box out entirely.

"We'll give it a few minutes," he said instead, turning the knob. "I flushed the air outta it. Should get warm here in a few."

"Oh, okay. - Can I get you anything?"

"Nah. Tell Marnie thanks tomorrow," he said. "Was her idea. Wouldn't be out here if she hadn't said somethin'."

The silence between them was, to Shane, a bit awkward, but there was little he could do about it. He held his hands up to the radiator, before motioning with his head for her to come over.

"Any better than it was earlier?"

She held her hands up, smaller than his, before a wide smile took over her face.

Aw, _fuck_.

He barely heard her speak over the sound her smile caused in his head, a long, drawn-out _uuhh_ seeming to echo in his mind.

"... much better, wow. Thank you so much, Shane. I'll pay you back in a few days, okay?"

She could pay him back _now_ , he thought, standing and zipping his hoodie up, as if the action would bundle his thoughts up for safe keeping.

"Don't worry about it. Keep the blanket, too."

And there was that smile again, wide and crinkling her eyes at the corners, a light blush on her face -

_Fuck_.

He slammed the door behind him, walking back to his home with a speed that he'd not had before.

_She'd be good for him_ , Marnie had said. She was full of shit. Had the farmer been that cute before? Had his drunk brain just overlooked that? Christ, he had to stop drinking.

"You're back already? How'd it go?"

"Fine, Marn. She said thanks."

"She's cute, isn't she?" Marnie's voice carried down the hall to his room, knowing and teasing all at once.

_For crying out loud_ , he wanted to say, _he didn't deserve this_.

"I guess."


End file.
